It was a rough, rough night for reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton. The man who drew so much attention before the game and had such a great 2015 season had a nightmare in Super Bowl 50.
Newton was 18/41 for 265 yards and 1 INT but that doesn’t even begin to tell the story. He was pressured all evening by Denver’s suffocating defense, especially MVP Von Miller, whose 2 forced fumbles were the key plays in the game. Newton was sacked several times and lost those 2 fumbles deep in his own territory that led to the 2 Broncos touchdowns.
There was also this footage of Newton not diving for one of those loose balls, which will surely feed the debate machine over the course of the NFL offseason.
Here’s Newton, not diving on the loose ball…
https://t.co/2DkpmHZWAX— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 8, 2016
Newton’s evening continued in the postgame press conference, where he was almost non-responsive before finally walking out. Here’s the video:
"I don’t know what you want me to say, I’m sorry." – A dejected Cam Newton walks off the podium abruptly. #SB50
— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2016
As one might expect, Newton had the seemingly already entrenched camps of his detractors and supporters already reporting to their battle stations after the game. Then there was Michael Irvin, who just twisted the knife deeper…
Michael Irvin on way Cam Newton handled postgame interview: "I've never lost in a Super Bowl, so I can't empathize."
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) February 8, 2016
And as always, the truth is somewhere in the middle. It was a horrible night for Newton, and maybe he could have handled it a little better, but one could certainly understand how crushed he might be to have such an excellent season end in such bitter disappointment.
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